Decision making in a dynamic environment. The common approach to decision making has been
through the use of analytical models such as five P three P O O,
D A and decide. Good decisions result when pilots gather all available information,
review it, analyze the options, rate the options, select a course of
action, and evaluate that course of action for correctness. In some situations,
there isn't always time to make decisions based on analytical decision making skills. A
good example is a quarterback whose actions are based upon a highly fluid and changing
situation. He intends to execute a plan, but new circumstances dictate decision making
on the fly. This type of decision making is called automatic decision making or
naturalized decision making. Refer to Figure seventeen DASH eleven B automatic decision making.
In an emergency situation, a pilot might not survive if he or she rigorously
applied analytical models to every decision made. There is not enough time to go
through all the options. But under these circumstances does he or she find the
best possible solution to every problem. For the past several decades, research into
how people actually make decisions has revealed that when pressed for time, Experts faced
with a task loaded with uncertainty first assess whether the situation strikes them as familiar.
Rather than comparing the pros and cons of different approaches, they quickly imagine
how one or a few possible courses of action in such situations will play out.
Experts take the first workable option they can find. While it may not
be the best of all possible choices, it often yields remarkably good results.
The terms naturalistic and automatic decision making have been coined to describe this type of
decision making. The ability to make automatic decisions holds true for a range of
experts, from firefighters to chess players. It appears the expert's ability hinges on
the recognition of patterns and consistencies that clarify options in complex situations. Experts appear
to make provisional sense of a situation without actually reaching a decision, by launching
experience based actions that in turn trigger creative revisions. This is a reflexive type
of decision making, anchored in training and experience, and is most often used
in times of emergencies, when there is no time to practice analytical decision making.
Naturalistic or automatic decision making improves with training and experience, and a pilot
will find himself or herself using a combination decision making tools that correlate with individual
experience and training operational pitfalls. Although more experienced pilots are likely to make more
automatic decisions, there are tendencies or operational pitfalls that come with the development of
pilot experience. These are classic behavioral traps into which pilots have been known to
fall. More experienced pilots, as a rule, try to complete a flight
as planned, please passengers, and meet schedules. The desire to meet these
goals can have an adverse effect on safety and contribute to an unrealistic assessment of
piloting skills. All experienced pilots have fallen, prey to, or have been
tempted by, one or more of these tendencies in their flying careers. These
dangerous tendencies or behavior patterns which must be identified and eliminated include the operational pitfalls
shown in figure seventeen twelve. Stress management. Everyone is stressed to some degree
almost all of the time. A certain amount of stress is good since it
keeps a person alert and prevents complacency. Effects of stress are cumulative, and
if the pilot does not cope with them in an appropriate way, they can
eventually add up to an intolerable burden. Performance generally increases with the onset of
stress, peaks, and then begins to fall off rapidly as stress levels exceed
a person's ability to cope. The ability to make effective decisions during flight can
be impared by stress. There are two categories of stress, acute and chronic.
These are both explained in Chapter sixteen Aeromedical factors. Factors referred to as
stressors can increase a pilot's risk of error in the flight deck. Refer to
Figure seventeen, Dash thirteen. Remember the cabin door that suddenly opened a flight
on the Mooney climbing through fifteen hundred feet on a clear sunny day. It
may startle the pilot, but the stress would wane when it became apparent the
situation was not a serious hazard. Yet, if the cabin door opened an
imc conditions, the stress level makes significant impact on the pilot's ability to cope
with simple tasks. The key to stress management is to stop, think and
analyze before jumping to a conclusion. There is usually time to think before drawing
unnecessary conclusions. There are several techniques to help manage the accumulation of life stresses
and prevent stress overload. For example, to help reduce stress levels, set
aside time for relaxation each day, or maintain a program of physical fitness to
prevent stress overload. Learn to manage time more effectively to avoid pressures imposed by
getting behind schedule and not meeting deadlines. Use of resources to make infeigned decisions
during flight operations. A pilot must also become aware of the resources found inside
and outside the flight tech. Since useful tools and sources of information may not
always be readily apparent, learning to recognize these resources is an essential part of
ADM training. Resources must not only be identified, but a pilot must also
develop the skills to evaluate whether there is time to use a particular resource and
the impact its use will have upon the safety of flight. For example,
the assistance of ATC may be very useful if a pilot becomes lost, but
in an emergency situation, there may be no time available to contact ATC internal
resources. One of the most underutilized resources may be the person in the right
seat, even if the passenger has no flying experience. When approp it to
PIC can ask passengers to assist with certain tasks, such as watching for traffic
or reading checklist items. Some other ways, a passenger can assist provide information
in an irregular situation, especially if familiar with flying. A strange smell or
sound may alert a passenger to a potential problem. Confirm after the pilot that
the landing gear is down. Learn to look at the altimeter for a given
altitude in a dissent, Listen to logic or lack of logic. Also,
the process of a verbal briefing, which can happen whether or not passengers or
aboard, can help the PIC in the decision making process. For example,
assume the pilot provides a loan passenger a briefing of the forecast landing weather before
departure. When the Automatic Terminal Information Service ADIS is picked up, the weather
has significantly changed. The discussion of this forecast change can lead the pilot to
re examine his or her activities and decision making refer to Figure seventeen fourteen.
Other valuable internal resources include ingenuity, aviation knowledge, and flying skill. Pilots
can increase flight deck resources by improving these characteristics when flying alone. Another internal
resource is verbal communication. It has been established that verbal communication reinforces an activity.
Touching an object while communicating further enhances the probability and activity has been accomplished.
For this reason, many solo pilots read the checklist out loud. When
they reach critical items. They touch the switch or control, for example,
to ascertain the landing gear is down. The pilot can read the checklist,
but if he or she touches the gear handle during the process, a safe
extension of the landing gear is confirmed. It is necessary for a pilot to
have a thorough understanding of all the equipment and systems in the aircraft being flown.
Lack of knowledge, such as knowing if the oil pressure gage is direct
reading or uses a sensor, is the difference between making a wise decision or
poor one that leads to a tragic error. Checklists are essential flight deck internal
resources. They are used to verify the aircraft instruments and systems are checked,
set and operating properly, as well as ensuring the proper procedures are performed if
there is a system malfunction or in flight emergency. Students reluctant to use checklists
can be reminded that pilots at all levels of experience refer to checklists, and
that the more advanced the aircraft is, the more crucial checklists become. In
addition, the pilots Operating Handbook pH is required to be carried on board the
aircraft and is essential for accurate flight planning and resolving in flight equipment malfunctions.
However, the most valuable resource a pilot has is the ability to manage workload,
whether alone or with others. External resources. Air traffic controllers and flight
service specialists are the best external resources during flight. In order to promote the
safe, orderly flow of air traffic around airports and along flight routes, the
ATC provides pilots with traffic advisories, radar vectors, and assistants in emergency situations.
Although it is the PIC's responsibility to make the flight as safe as possible,
a pilot with a problem can request assistance from ATC. Refer to figure
seventeen Dash fifteen. For example, if a pilot needs to level off,
be given a vector or decreased speed, ATC assists end comes integrated as part
of the crew. The services provided by ATC cannot only decrease pilot workload,
but also help pilots make informed in flight decisions. The flight service stations are
air traffic facilities that provide pilot briefing, en route communications via our search and
rescue services, assist lost aircraft and aircraft in emergency situations, relay ATC clearances,
originate notices to airmen, notem broadcast aviation, weather and National Airspace System
and as information, receive and process if OUR flight plans, and monitor Navigational
aids naviids. In addition, at selected locations, flight service stations provide en
route flight advisory service, flight watch, issue airport advisories, and advise customs
and immigration of transporder flights. Selected flight service stations in Alaska also provide TEA
web recordings and make weather observations. End of Part five of Chapter seventeen